"I look forward to becoming a full-fledged train driver soon," said Malaysian East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) employee Muhammad Ikhmal in a recent interview, his voice filled with anticipation.

　　The 26-year-old from Kelantan state in northern Malaysia was selected late last year as one of the first 37 local trainees for the locomotive assistant driver training program under China Communications Construction Company's (CCCC) East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project. Together, they travelled to the Liuzhou Railway Vocational Technical College in Guangxi, China, to study locomotive driving and maintenance skills. After completing their training in China, they returned to Malaysia for further on-site practice. Once they pass their final assessments, they will officially join the ECRL project as part of a "new generation" driving China–Malaysia railway cooperation forward. "When the trains one day speed along the East Coast Rail Link, I'll feel proud of my contribution," Ikhmal said.